Hindu activist's arrest: Ashoka, Bellad detained during BJP protest

Leader of Opposition in Assembly R Ashoka, his deputy and Hubli-Dharwad (West) MLA Arvind Bellad and scores of BJP workers were detained by police in Hubballi on Wednesday when they tried to picket the town police station, condemning the arrest of Shrikant Pujari, a karsevak, in connection with a 1992 Ram Janmabhoomi agitation violence case.

The BJP workers staged a protest in front of the police station. Police detained them when they tried to picket the station, demanding the suspension of the inspector who arrested Pujari.

Ashoka charged that an innocent was arrested by ‘digging up’ a 31-year-old case as per the direction of the Siddaramaiah government'. “What was the need to arrest the karsevak when the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony is round the corner. This is being done to scare Hindus.”

“We will intensify our struggle. We will send a strong message to the government on the consequences they will face if they target Hindu activists. On January 9, the party will hold a massive protest in Hubballi, if government fails to suspend officer who arrested Pujari,” Ashoka warned.

“They (Congress) are jealous of Ram mandir construction. They know that they will not win a single seat in the state in upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Therefore, they are doing this to threaten Hindus,” he said.

“When there are 69,000 pending cases in the state, including 10,000 cases in Bengaluru alone, why did they arrest an innocent here?” he asked. 

Bellad accused Siddaramaiah of Muslim appeasement and said this arrest was made to divert people’s attention from government’s failures.